World Tour recap - Vilnius and Bucharest UPB progress from Istanbul

Next up for the FIBA 3x3 World Tour was a trip to the gateway to Asia, as 15 more teams went to battle on the Cadebostan seafront in Istanbul.

In the first Semi-Final, Bucharest UPB got off to a lightning fast start. However, surprise package Jordanians Amman clawed back a five point deficit to bring scores back to 11-12 with a couple of minutes to play. But the appropriately named Angel Santana would step up to guide Bucharest to safety.

Driving into the paint, he came up against a wall of Jordanians. He slowed, leapt and delivered a sumptuous tear-drop over his opponents to win the game 13-11.

In the other semi, the Lithuanians of Vilnius opened up a five point gap against Ukrainians Kharkov midway through the game, profiting from a succession of misfires and their superior size.

Kharkov however were by no means finished, launching a scoring run – led by Shoot-Out contest winner Tymur Arabadzhy – that would fall just short of bringing both sides level.

The excellent Darius Ciuta managed to stop the rot for Vilnius to hold on for an 11-9 win.

In the Dunk Contest Final, Rafał "Lipek" Lipiński produced a breath-taking slam over a Harley Davidson, complete with a sitting biker.

To the Final, and the two sides had met in the very first game of the tournament, when the scores had finished with a two-point margin in favour of Vilnius.

A day-and-a-half later and Vilnius again stormed into the lead.

Withstanding every attempt at a comeback, Vilnius effectively tied things up with two minutes to go thanks to a shot from beyond the arc by Ciuta, which brought the scores to 16-12.

The final buzzer brought scenes of celebration as a USD 12,000 cheque was handed over for the fourth time.